“Training your mind to be in the present moment is the #1 key to making healthier choices” – Susan Albers
BREATHING EXERCISES
Breathing exercises are a highly effective way to help students decompress throughout the school day, especially for students that have difficulty with self-regulation. Breathing exercises help reduce stress. Visuals are a great way to engage and guide a child through the breathing exercise. If your child or student is old enough, they can also pick their own personalized visual to pair their breathing with. For example, if I were to pick a mountain as my visual, I would inhale until I reached the peak of the mountain, then exhale till I reached the base of the mountain. Repeat this exercise about 5-10 times.
GUIDED MEDITATION
Guided meditation is another exercise that helps reduce stress. Guided meditation activities are a great way to regroup after a transition or recenter the child during an activity. Guided meditation can be a 3 minute scripted program or it could be as easy as: “Relax your shoulders, now take 5 deep breaths. Unclench your jaw, now take another 5 deep breaths. Relax your hands and feet, and now take a minute to just close your eyes and breath”. For some children, setting a timer and having the child quietly free draw or read can be equally as calming. Eventually, if these exercises are integrated into the students’ everyday schedule then your child or student will have the tools to self sooth!
